Nottingham Forest have taken yet another step towards Champions League qualification by claiming a 1-0 triumph over Manchester United at City Ground on Tuesday.
Just three days after a gruelling FA Cup quarter-final clash against Brighton & Hove Albion, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men had another tricky assignment to navigate without leading scorer Chris Wood.
Bruno Fernandes produced United’s first effort of the contest with a long-range drive which called Matz Sels into action, and from the resulting corner, Anthony Elanga went on a one-man counterattack down the other end to strike against his former employers.
Fernandes forced Sels into another save shortly afterwards, albeit a much comfortable one this time around as United looked to hit back in double-quick time.
The visitors should have gotten themselves back on level terms in the 13th minute through Casemiro, who planted a header wide from close range.
Ruben Amorim’s men continued to dominate the ball possession without necessarily putting Sels under any real pressure, and Forest came close to doubling their advantage just before the interval as Morato forced Andre Onana into his first save of the afternoon.
Casemiro had one final bite at the cherry in the first half with a long-range effort that was well wide to conclude a largely underwhelming first half from Manchester United.
Brought on as a half-time substitute, Rasmus Hojlund had his side’s first effort of the second period within the opening 75 seconds to yield the half’s first corner, from which Casemiro continued his personal duel with Sels.
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Having been on the back foot for the early exchanges of the restart, Forest started to grow into the contest and had their first crack at Onana’s goal via Morgan Gibbs-White.
Alejandro Garnacho had a flurry of opportunities midway through the second half but failed to make the most of them as United continued their quest for parity.
As the game progressed, the hosts gradually retreated with the aim of holding on to their narrow advantage.
Harry Maguire was brought on as an emergency centre-forward and was inches away from rescuing a point for his side only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Murillo with almost the last kick of the game.
Tuesday’s victory has seen Forest move nine points clear of Manchester City in fifth, while United remain 13th in the Premier League table and still await consecutive league wins for the first time this season.